


abundans cautela non nocet

by atimi (bertee)



Series: CWRPF: horas non numero [3]
Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Ancient Rome, Dubious Consent, M/M, Past Underage Sex, Sexual Slavery, Slavery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-04-14
Updated: 2009-04-14
Packaged: 2017-11-11 10:07:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,442
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/477381
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bertee/pseuds/atimi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nobleman!Jared and slave!Jensen share their very different relationship histories.</p>
            </blockquote>





	abundans cautela non nocet

  
Staring up the low bedroom ceiling, Jared enjoyed the pleasurable numbness in his limbs as he waited for the white spots to clear from his vision.

After he finally regained his breath, he propped himself up on the heap of pillows and looked down at Jensen with a content grin, asking in genuine confusion, "How is that so much better with your hand than with mine?"

Kneeling in the middle of the bed, Jensen paused in the process of wiping down the sheets and their naked bodies, and smiled teasingly at him. "I was going to ask you the same thing."

Jared laughed, feeling more relaxed than he could remember. "Hmm. It's a conundrum."

Jensen chuckled and clambered smoothly off the bed, folding away the cloth he'd used to clean up the evidence of their activities and retrieving a scrap of material from the floor to wrap around his bare hips. Partly worried that Jensen was slipping back into slave mode and partly just not wanting him to get dressed yet, Jared made a noise of protest and sat up in the bed. "What are you doing?"

"Cleaning up," Jensen answered with an easy smile. "I don't think Master Murray would be too pleased to find our mess all over his guest bed."

"Okay, first? Chad's away," Jared pointed out good naturedly. "He and his family are away in Apulia and they won't be back till tomorrow. And second?" He swung his feet over the side of the bed, trying to meet Jensen's eyes. "You don't need to call him that."

It was an old argument and despite Jared's hopes to the contrary, Jensen gave his standard answer, "He's my master. It's what I should call him."

Jared scrubbed a hand across his face, hating that, in the ten months he'd been in the Murray household, Jensen had apparently become comfortable with exchanging mutual handjobs in his master's guest bed but not with calling said master by his first name. His heart wasn't in it but he argued back out of habit, "I'm a citizen; you shouldn't be calling me by my name either."

He knew it was petty and childish, and the guilt kicked in as soon as Jensen responded, half sarcastic, half nervous, "If that's what you'd prefer, _Sir_."

Sighing in defeat, Jared wandered across the room and rested his hands on Jensen's shoulders with the apology, "I'm sorry, Jen. I didn't mean that. It's just frustrating, y'know? I hate thinking of you as having a master, especially one like Chad."

Jensen's expression softened and he looked up. "I know you don't like it, but that's the way it is, Jared." His gaze dropped again as he reminded quietly, "You know you can leave me whenever you want. You're from a good family; you could do so much better than a slave."

"Hey." He ducked his head to meet his eyes, still not used to having an inch of height advantage over the other man. "I don't want anyone else but you."

He'd spoken with sincerity but Jensen shook his head, a sad smile on his face. "You're sixteen. You'll come of age soon and you'll change your mind when you've got girls begging to marry you. That's how it should be."

"No," Jared stated with conviction, feeling irrationally fired by Jensen's calm demeanor. "No, it's not going to happen like that. Yeah, I'll need to get married to someone eventually but that doesn't mean I'm going to leave you." He cupped Jensen's cheek, tracing the bow of his lips with his thumb. "I'll get my adult toga in a couple of months and then when I start earning some money of my own, I can save up enough to buy you. Chad'll sell you to me, I can free you, and we can be together without having to sneak around when Chad's family is out of town."

Jensen's smile didn't quite convince him but his voice was honest. "It's a nice dream." He leaned in, kissing him softly on the lips before murmuring, "I hope you manage it one day."

Jared nodded vehemently. "I will. I promise." He grinned, brushing Jensen's nose playfully with his own. "But for now? Let's go back to bed." Jensen raised his eyebrows, looking pointedly between Jared's legs, and he added, "Just to talk, that is."

Patting his shoulder indulgently, Jensen conceded, "Okay. Let me go light some incense and I'll be right back."

He headed to the door, reappearing a moment later with a lighted candle while Jared settled back on the bed and watched curiously. "Incense? Is Chad into some fruity herbal crap that he hasn't told me about?"

Chuckling, Jensen moved easily around the room to light the incense, filling the room with candlelight and the scents of sandalwood and juniper as he commented, "Just trying to make it nicer." He smirked. "Well, that, and it smells like sex right now."

Finishing up, he climbed on the bed next to Jared, who contemplated aloud, "How can it smell like sex when we haven't actually had sex yet?"

Jensen lay next to him on the pillows, sighing at the rare comfort. "Does that not count as sex? 'Cause if you do that to people in the street, I think we need to have a talk."

"Did I not tell you? I work in a brothel in my spare time," Jared deadpanned, smiling at the sound of Jensen's laughter and gathering his composure for his next comment. "Speaking of brothels..." Jensen fell silent, intrigued, and Jared continued, "You know I'm turning seventeen in a few months, right? Well, my father's planning to give me my adult toga this year; he's already mustering up as many associates as he can for the ceremony and it's pretty much a sure thing that I finally get to become a man. About time too," he added with a hint of jealousy. "Can't believe Chad got his toga when he was sixteen."

"You'll get there eventually." He felt a flush of pride when Jensen ruffled his hair and assured, "You'll be a great man, Jared. As far as I'm concerned, you already are."

"I'm not there yet," Jared admitted. "And I don't mean the toga aspect." He played with the tasseled edge of a pillow, avoiding Jensen's gaze. "I'm supposed to have sex before the coming of age ceremony." He watched Jensen's fingers tense up where they rested on the sheets and bit his lip in embarrassment before expanding, "My father told me I should go to a prostitute, and since that's Chad's area of expertise..."

He trailed off and Jensen filled in, "He's going to take you to a brothel."

"Yep." Jared kept his stare fixed on the silk cushions. "The night before my birthday."

He chanced a look up, trying to read Jensen's expression but finding that Jensen read him far quicker and easier. "And you want to know what I think about it?"

Hand tucked behind his head, Jared stroked his finger along Jensen's forearm and nodded. "Yeah. Are you okay with that, or..."

"Or what?" Despite the bluntness of the question, Jensen's tone was light-hearted. "There's no second option here, Jared. As much as I like you, I'm not delusional enough to think I have any say in your life." He nudged him playfully. "Anyway, any other guy would be jumping at the chance to get laid for the first time. You should enjoy it."

Trying to change the subject, Jared tugged lightly at the cloth around Jensen's waist. "Y'know, I'd enjoy _this_ a lot more if you were naked again." Jensen laughed and he tugged harder. "Take it off, Jen."

The other man complied and rolled onto his stomach, resting his head on his arms before dragging the conversation back on topic. "What's the matter, Jared? You should be excited about this, not upset." Eyes glinting in the candlelight, he asked with concern, "It's not about me, is it?"

Jared's silence was a damning answer and Jensen sighed. Jared shifted uncomfortably for a moment as Jensen studied him intensely, feeling like the slave was slipping his way through all his carefully wrought defenses when he offered quietly, "Do you want to sleep with me?"

"Jensen, I-"

"Do you want to sleep with me?" Jensen repeated with more confidence, as though he knew Jared's answer before he even gave it. "Is that how you want your first time to be? Sharing a bed with me instead of a whore?"

With completely fake indifference, Jared shrugged. "I'll need to sleep with a whore either way. I'm not a man till I bed a woman, remember?"

His attempt at deflection was a failure and Jensen bypassed it easily. "Answer my question, Jay. Do you want your first time to be with me?"

"No." Jensen looked surprised and he corrected, "Not unless you want it too. And I mean really want it, Jensen. For you, not just because it'd make me happy."

"We went through this months ago, Jared," Jensen replied, tone hovering on the edge of patient. "I wouldn't offer if I didn't mean it and you know I'll tell you if you do something I don't want." Seeing Jared's downcast eyes, he sighed and adjusted his suggestion, "You don't need to decide right now. Your birthday's in what, four months? Master Murray's going out to Herculaneum with his family in a couple of months so we can spend some time together then."

Another question he'd previously forgotten sprang to mind and Jared inquired, "How come he doesn't take you with him?" He shifted closer, kissing the curve of his elbow. "If you were living with me, I wouldn't want to go anywhere without you."

"If he can have his needs met without me there, that's his call." Jensen couldn't hold back his smile. "And if I get to see you while he's away, I'm not complaining."

Lifting his head from his arms, he let Jared come closer to kiss him, making a pleased noise as Jared's tongue playfully flicked against his lips. Sighing in contentment, he rested his head back on his arms and Jared lay back on the pillows, fingers stroking idle paths across the bare expanse of Jensen's back and skimming the network of thin white scars he found there.

A light breeze swept in through the small window, wafting the scents around the room and accompanying the drift of Jared's thoughts from the present to the future and the real possibility of having sex for the first time with Jensen. The longer he thought about it, the less terrifying the idea seemed and he couldn't help but think that an evening with Jensen would be far superior to an quick half hour in a brothel with Chad cheering him on outside.

Smiling to himself, he traced the line of Jensen's spine and asked almost without thinking, "You've had sex before, right?"

Jensen's brow creased but he answered simply, "Yeah."

Unsatisfied, Jared prompted, "Well?"

"'Well' what?"

Perplexed by the normally astute Jensen's obtuseness, he elaborated, "What was it like?"

"Good," Jensen replied shortly before reading Jared's expression and softening his tone. "Really good. I mean, it's different with a man and a woman, and it's definitely different if you're on the receiving end with a man, but it's good. You just need to work out what you like."

"Which do you prefer?" Jared pushed, rolling onto his stomach and waiting curiously for Jensen's answer. "Do you like giving or receiving when you're with a man?"

"It depends. With-" He stopped himself, giving an abridged answer instead, "I've had more experience on the bottom so I guess I prefer that."

Jared 'hmm'ed to himself, squeezing a pillow and continuing his friendly inquisition, "How many people have you been with?"

There were still odd waves of tension vibrating off Jensen as he murmured, "Three."

"Who were they?" he pressed enthusiastically, so used to Chad sharing stories of his conquests. "Was it a one time thing or were you with someone else full-time before you met me?"

A tiny smile touched Jensen's lips and some of the tension ebbed out of his shoulders. "There was someone else. He wasn't- It's not like what we have now, but while it lasted, it was amazing."

Thinking that was probably the most personal information Jensen had ever volunteered, Jared shifted onto his side, running a hand over Jensen's upper arm while he tried to find out more about the mysterious other man. "Who was he? Was he a citizen or-"

"He was a slave," Jensen filled in, a glint in his eyes at the memory. "We grew up together in the Douglas house but he was a couple of years older than I was."

"How long were you together for?"

" _Together_ together?" Jensen stared absently at the cushions underneath his arms. "A year or so. I was sixteen when it started and it lasted till-"

"Until what?" For all Chad's stories, Jared had never really learned about actual relationships and how they ended. "What happened?" Jensen swallowed hard and Jared prompted, "Jen?"

"He died," Jensen stated, all the emotion forced out of his tone. "He was executed with the rest of Douglas' slaves after the rebellion."

The only sound in the room was the irregular tap of the wooden shutter against the wall as Jared let his head sink into the pillow in shame.

"I'm sorry, Jen," he murmured sincerely. "I didn't know..." He cleared his throat, ready to offer up a change of subject after a final apology. "I shouldn't have pushed. I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Jensen assured around the audible lump in his throat. "It was a long time ago." He took a long breath before saying, "He was my first. I was with him months before I was with my master and mistress, and I was so grateful to him for that."

Eyes widening at the throwaway piece of information, Jared couldn't stop himself blurting out, stunned, "They had sex with you?" Jensen looked confused and he stammered, "Your master and mistress? They _had sex_ with you?"

Jensen shrugged, turning his head away until Jared could see the shadows of his eyelashes on his cheeks in the candlelight. "They owned me. They could do whatever they wanted."

Grimacing at Jensen's nonchalance, Jared shook his head, disgusted. Sleeping with one's slaves wasn't widely discussed but it wasn't forbidden or even uncommon, particularly among certain social circles. "Weren't they a lot older than you?"

"Because age is such a factor," Jensen returned with light sarcasm before glancing back at Jared and correcting, "They were both around thirty when they brought me into their bed."

"And how old were you?" Jared retorted, not even trying to hide the subtext of his real question.

"Old enough," he responded calmly. "I wasn't some fragile child and they never abused me. If I was a citizen, I would've had my adult toga by then." Seeing that Jared was struggling to comprehend, he propped himself up on his elbow and faced him. "Jared, whatever you're thinking, you're wrong. They were good owners, they were kind to me and they never made me do anything I didn't want to."

"Oh, so you _wanted_ to sleep with them?" Jared spat, sitting up quickly. "If you were free, if you’d had a real choice, you would've had sex with them anyway?"

Behind him, he heard Jensen sigh. "Don't be so simple."

"Simple?!" Turning around, he saw Jensen had sat up too and was leaning back against the bed and away from him. "It is simple, Jensen! Either you wanted to sleep with them or you didn't. If you didn't, there's a word for that, and it's got nothing to do with being a good slave."

Jaw clenched, Jared felt another rush of frustration at knowing Jensen was filtering his words carefully before he spoke, "It wasn't like that. I wanted the best life possible and I chose to share my master's bed a few times a year to get that. They never hurt me, they never forced me, and they taught me a lot." His short-lived fire died down and he dropped his gaze, voice slipping back to subservient, "Look, I'll understand if you want to stop what we're doing. This- You shouldn't have to deal with this."

Temper cooling a little in the breeze, Jared shuffled back up the bed to face Jensen, feeling a pinch of guilt when his gaze skittered away from his own. Not wanting to regress back to the difficult early days of their relationship, he cupped Jensen's cheek and said with as much honesty as he could, "I don't care about that. Yeah, I don't understand it, but I don't want to let it get in the way of this. If it didn't hurt you, I guess it's not going to hurt us now."

Hope sparking in his eyes, Jensen glanced up at him nervously. "You sure?"

Out of suitable words of reassurance, Jared responded in the only way he could and leaned in for a kiss. Jensen's lips parted in surprise at the pressure of Jared's mouth on his own and Jared's tongue delved inside, teasing Jensen's in the hope of some return. It came a moment later when Jensen melted under the heat of the kiss, shoulders, spine, lips, and mind all relaxing as he entrusted himself to Jared's affection. Not wanting to let him down, Jared slid his arms around Jensen's body and tried not to knock their teeth together when he maneuvered them to a more comfortable and more horizontal position in the bed, both lying back on the pillows in each other's arms.

Teeth clashing just before their heads hit the cushions, Jared grinned when Jensen chuckled against his shoulder, snuggling with familiarity into his arms as he asked, "What did I ever do without you?"

Repeating Jensen's question from earlier, Jared teased, "I was going to ask you the same thing." He kissed his forehead, trying to savor every moment of their too brief time together for fear that it might not be repeated often. The smell of the incense drifted over them, combining with the scent that was uniquely Jensen, and Jared breathed out slowly before making a quiet decision, "I wanna take you up on your offer." Jensen blinked up at him and he confirmed, "I want you to be my first, Jen. I don't think I'm gonna be able to talk Chad out of buying me a prostitute but I wanna sleep with you first."

Surprised, Jensen smiled in genuine delight and Jared tried to ignore the surreal edge to the situation; he, a citizen, was making a slave so happy by promising to have sex with him. However, he pushed it away when Jensen leaned up, kissing a path along his shoulder before straddling his hips and moving the kisses to his lips. "You won't regret it." More kisses. "I'll be so good for you." Still more kisses, this time with whispered gratitude. "Thank you..."

"Thank _you_." Hands at Jensen's waist, Jared gave him a long, slow kiss. "So we're going to do this again?"

"Master Murray leaves with his family in a little over two months - you could come by then? Y'know, if you want to."

Amused at the sudden shyness from a guy who was currently sitting on top of him naked, Jared promised with a smile, "Sounds perfect."

Jensen's smile was the widest he'd seen and after planting a messy, enthusiastic kiss on his lips, he trailed a path down his neck, teeth scraping across his Adam's apple and tongue flicking in the hollow of his collarbone. The vibrations of Jared's groan reverberated between their chests as Jensen continued moving down, biting and sucking on the darker nubs of his nipples to send gooseflesh spreading down Jared's arms. The breeze skimmed the wet paths his mouth left behind and Jared felt enjoyable shivers course through him when Jensen's tongue lingered playfully at his navel.

Part of him thought he would stop there, and when he didn't, Jared looked up to see Jensen's eyes glinting mischievously in the faint light. "What are you-"

"Relax," Jensen soothed with a smile, breath ghosting over the faint hair on his lower stomach. "Call it another first."

Before Jared could question it, the words were snatched away by the heat of Jensen's mouth and he gasped before he could stop himself, "Oh God..."

Staring up at the bedroom ceiling, he felt the pleasurable numbness start to trickle back into his limbs and decided Jensen's mouth was far more skilled than his hand.  



End file.
